MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) by 11.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,608 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,466 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $19,669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI grew its holdings in UnitedHealth Group by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 2,253,996 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $549,998,000 after buying an additional 86,584 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co. increased its position in UnitedHealth Group by 2.1% during the second quarter. Haverford Trust Co. now owns 470,085 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $114,705,000 after purchasing an additional 9,505 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 60.9% during the second quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 199,480 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $48,675,000 after purchasing an additional 75,479 shares during the period. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in UnitedHealth Group by 26.4% during the second quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Bell Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of UnitedHealth Group by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd now owns 76,858 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,754,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060 shares during the last quarter. 86.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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In other UnitedHealth Group news, Director Richard T. Burke sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.40, for a total transaction of $1,232,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 187,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,318,025.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $227.55 per share, with a total value of $455,100.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,524 shares in the company, valued at $1,256,986.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 19,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,758,720 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNH. Cleveland Research reissued a “buy” rating on shares of UnitedHealth Group in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada set a $311.00 target price on UnitedHealth Group and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Zacks Investment Research raised UnitedHealth Group from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $269.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Raymond James upped their price target on UnitedHealth Group from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, ValuEngine downgraded UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. UnitedHealth Group presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $294.11.

Shares of NYSE:UNH traded up $1.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $233.57. 1,810,377 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,499,143. The firm has a market cap of $218.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. UnitedHealth Group Inc has a 52-week low of $208.07 and a 52-week high of $287.94. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $241.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.82.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $3.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $3.46 by $0.14. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 25.20% and a net margin of 5.51%. The firm had revenue of $60.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $60.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.14 EPS. UnitedHealth Group’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that UnitedHealth Group Inc will post 14.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.54%.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. It operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight, and OptumRx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older, addressing their needs for preventive and acute health care services, as well as services dealing with chronic disease and other specialized issues for older individuals; and Medicaid plans, Children's Health Insurance Program, and health care programs; and health and dental benefits.